A Day to be Happy
by Jethro Holmes
Summary: Though it is should be a sad day, a fallen comrade help teaches a valuable lesson.


_I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. All belong to Hiro Mashima._

* * *

It was a partly cloudy day over Fairy Tail. The reason being was mostly because Juvia was attempting to keep her powers under control for what was proceeding.

Just outside the guild, stood all of Fairy Tail's members, young and old, rookie and veteran alike, all standing around a grave; however, not a one was dressed in black. One person was kneeling in front of said grave, doing his best to hold back the tears that threatened to run down his face.

"Happy…" he muttered under his breath.

A small statue stood atop the headstone, in the shape of said Exceed, wings open and smiling as if there was no care in the world. The headstone read: 'Here lies the happiest, flying cat to ever live and grace us with smiles. Rest in Peace, Happy Dragneel.'

Lucy was standing a few feet behind him, tissue in hand as she quietly sobbed. Wendy stood in front of her choking back her tears, though it was a vain attempt. Gray and Erza stood on either side, remaining composed, save for the few tears that rolled down their cheeks. Juvia was leaning and hugging Gray's arm, a tissue in her hand, as well, choking back her sobs to focus on keeping rain at bay.

Levy stood behind Lucy, quietly crying into her tissue while Jet and Droy bawled their eyes out behind her. Gajeel stood next to Levy, arms folded tightly, but showing no other emotion than the frown he normally wore.

Mirajane was wiping her eyes sniffling all the while. Her brother, Elfman, was holding their baby sister, who was crying her eyes out, as well.

Alzack and Bisca stood side-by-side with Asuka standing between them holding both their hands while she was sobbing and sniffling. Bisca was wearing her old dress along with the rest of her attire for the event because she felt it was more appropriate.

Makarov rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, while Laxus and the Thunder God stood behind him, all of them quietly composed, though Bixslow and Evergreen were both in tears, the former sniffling quite a lot.

Gildarts stood with his arm wrapped around the shoulder's of his daughter, Cana, who quietly sobbed into his cloak.

The two remaining Exceeds, Carla and Pantherlily, floated above them all. Carla was dabbing her eyes with a tissue while Lily had a similar expression to Gajeel's, albeit a little more soft.

Natsu remained kneeling for a moment, sniffling a few times, before he rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. When he stood up, all eyes were on him, waiting for his next action. His head was down, shoulders tense, and his hands balled into fists, but then he relaxed his entire body.

"There's no need for any of us to be sad or crying."

Everyone looked at him in wonder, not really expecting this from him, surprisingly.

"Happy wouldn't have wanted it."

He turned to face his family with a big grin plastered on his face, though tears still streamed from his eyes.

"He would want us to carry on with our lives, and being happy in his memory."

Lucy clenched her tissue tighter. "Natsu…" she whispered.

"I know it sucks that he's…" he paused for a moment, choking back his sob and wiping his eyes with his sleeve again, before he continued. "It sucks that he's gone now, but he always be with us in our hearts.

"There's no reason for us to be so upset 'cause I know…" he started to choke back his sob again, but was failing miserably. "I know…" His raised shoulders were trembling while his hands were shaking. "I know…"

Lucy took a step forward but was stopped when a metal clad arm blocked her path. She looked up at Erza, who was still looking towards Natsu, but didn't see any emotion save for the few tears that ran down her face.

After a moment, she turned back to Natsu, whose head was down. He was still trembling all over and this caused Lucy's eyes to become wet again.

All of a sudden, "BECAUSE I KNOW HE'S WATCHING OVER ALL US, RIGHT NOW! AND HE'S WISHING FOR US TO CHEER UP, AND CARRY ON WITH JOY AND LIVE OUT OUR LIVES WITH ALL OUR MIGHT!"

This startled everyone in attendance, though Natsu failed to notice as he was crying into his sleeve, his legs trembling. Soon after, everyone lowered their heads with a small smile forming on their faces, while some of them still had tears rolling down their faces.

At that moment, a cold, gentle hand was laid upon Lucy's shoulder, causing her to raise her head and look up at Erza again. This time, there was a gentle smile on her face as she stared down at Lucy. When she nodded her head, Lucy understood what she meant, and then began to walk towards Natsu.

She stopped right in front of him, and before he looked up at her, she wrapped her arms around him. Natsu was not surprised, but he started to cry harder as he returned the hug.

She whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry, Natsu."

He sniffed before he responded, trying his best to keep the trembling out of his voice. "It's okay, Lucy. There's no reason to be sorry."

Lucy just hugged him tighter for a moment. "I'll miss him."

He started to rub her back, taking a deep inhale before letting it out. "I know." He sniffed again. "I will, too."

They stood there embracing each other while the rest of their guild mates began to disperse. They remained for a few minutes long before they headed inside, an arm wrapped around each other.

Natsu gave one last look at the grave. "I hope they have plenty of fish for you, buddy," he muttered, but Lucy caught every word of it. A smile spread across her, and she laid her head on his shoulder, rubbing small circles on his back.

The sun seemed to shine brighter on the statue of Happy and as the wind picked up, one could swear they could hear an eager, 'Aye, Sir!'

* * *

In memory of Rex, the family pet rabbit.


End file.
